Nikon NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S Lens

This is an excellent lens. I think the reviews comparing it to the former 200-400 f/4 are accurate. This is +/- equal in terms of sharpness, but is much faster in focusing. (You have to be careful about how you select the focus parameters in the camera, though.) It is lighter and handles much easier than the 200-400. It's not a prime, it has some minor drawbacks, but overall it's a very suitable replacement, especially given the cost of the original 200-400. When you can't plan how close you're going to be to the action, zooms are about the only choice. Nice that you can pull back to 100mm, but I'm not a big fan of external zooms with variable f/stops. Bokeh is fair to good. Really can't go wrong on this one. I put a bunch of stuff into sports magazines with the ... MoreThis is an excellent lens. I think the reviews comparing it to the former 200-400 f/4 are accurate. This is +/- equal in terms of sharpness, but is much faster in focusing. (You have to be careful about how you select the focus parameters in the camera, though.) It is lighter and handles much easier than the 200-400. It's not a prime, it has some minor drawbacks, but overall it's a very suitable replacement, especially given the cost of the original 200-400. When you can't plan how close you're going to be to the action, zooms are about the only choice. Nice that you can pull back to 100mm, but I'm not a big fan of external zooms with variable f/stops. Bokeh is fair to good. Really can't go wrong on this one. I put a bunch of stuff into sports magazines with the 200-400, and there's no reason to believe this will be a step backward. (Using Z9.) Example photo is just a screen grab, but conveys the message.

I am a long time Nikon user, and this is my first new long telephoto zoom lens in many years. I am switching over from a 200-400mm f/4 VR.The new Z lens handily outperforms the old F mount lens in just about every way. Image quality is outstanding, focus and stabilization are distinctly better. Handling a small, light lens at these focal ranges is a joy, compared to the old beast.The "slow" aperture is perhaps the only complaint on the performance side. In low light, you really need to crank up ISO to get a fast shutter speed (eg for wildlife).The only other consideration is that it's quite expensive compared to other options from Nikon and Sigma. It's very good, but not cheap.

I'm switching over from a 200-400mm f/4 mainly because of the size and weight. A lens is only good if you bring it with you and I didn't often bring the 200-400mm because of its size and weight. That larger, heavier lens also meant I needed a heavier and studier tripod to hold all that weight. With this lens, I can actually pack it into my rather small (16 liter) backpack and have it available during my international travels. It also will mount on a lighter travel tripod so I can leave the 5-series beast at home. I just wish I could have bought it sooner, but waiting for a good open-box deal takes patience.I took some quick test shots just to try it out and I'm fairly pleased with the results. Adding the 2X TC extends the reach of this lens but with some serious ... MoreI'm switching over from a 200-400mm f/4 mainly because of the size and weight. A lens is only good if you bring it with you and I didn't often bring the 200-400mm because of its size and weight. That larger, heavier lens also meant I needed a heavier and studier tripod to hold all that weight. With this lens, I can actually pack it into my rather small (16 liter) backpack and have it available during my international travels. It also will mount on a lighter travel tripod so I can leave the 5-series beast at home. I just wish I could have bought it sooner, but waiting for a good open-box deal takes patience.I took some quick test shots just to try it out and I'm fairly pleased with the results. Adding the 2X TC extends the reach of this lens but with some serious compromises. Aperture is reduced to f/11 at 800mm which requires either high ISO or long exposures. The latter doesn't work well with wildlife, so mitigating noise will be the big issue. I wish the bokeh were better, especially with the 2X, because the results show a definite ring, not a soft glow, almost like a catadioptric lens. I like the bokeh better on my old lens and the 1-stop increase in aperture at the higher focal length would be helpful in less than ideal light.Sharpness is excellent even with the 2X, with the lens getting a bit soft at the very edges when at the aperture extremes at 100mm. Focus can sometimes be imprecise, depending on your camera, and the focus will often rack to both extremes with anything less than a bright image. To be fair, the same would happen with the 200-400mm. On my Z6II, it will often seek and sometimes take a few seconds to confirm focus. By that point, your wildlife has moved on. I often have to intervene manually to get it close and then hope the auto-focus will find the subject. Obviously, the lens focuses much better without a teleconverter, but it's good to know it does work (eventually) when you want to extend your reach.This lens was surprisingly light weight given its size. It's easy to balance for handheld shots and the controls are fairly easy to reach and use. I like the extra control ring that can be assigned for aperture, or exposure compensation. I wasn't sure how well the lens would work on a gimbal since its length changes, but after a bit of use, its balance is acceptable. The internal counterbalancing Nikon boasts about doesn't quite work as well as advertised and the gimbal will go from being a bit weighted toward the camera at 100mm to being weighted toward the front of the lens at 400mm. If I find I'm using the lens more at the longer extreme, I'll simply readjust the balance. If I'm handholding the lens, I definitely will turn on the VR, sometimes to Sport mode for fast moving subjects at 300mm or longer.I attempted to replace the lens foot with a Kirk foot, but found that the Arca rail wasn't long enough toward the rear of the lens when using the 2X or when the camera has a battery pack attached. Instead, I added a 4" lens plate to the existing foot that extends backward a bit to allow the lens to be mounted further forward on the gimbal. Unlike other reviews, I found the lens foot to work fine and holds the lens tightly to the collar.Some other minor issues and concerns include: the lens hood is tulip-shaped for some reason, which increases the likelihood of lens flare. The hood is also a bit difficult to remove or attach, especially when reversed for storage. I'm a little skeptical that dust won't enter the lens given the intake of air when you zoom the lens out. I also wish the lens OLED display would turn on when the aperture, focal length or focus distance changes and the display is set to show one of those. Thankfully, a recent firmware upgrade changed the behavior of the focus ring to be linear. The non-linear mode made manual focusing difficult.So far, I like this lens, but I may end up keeping the 200-400mm f/4. Not because it performs better, but because everyone is upgrading to smaller, lighter lenses and I can't seem to sell it now.